Turkey is investing in Africa by opening new embassies, developing bilateral political ties with African countries and investing in projects regarding humanitarian aid, public education, social welfare and infrastructure building, according to several African experts.

Over 20 political experts and diplomats from different African countries attended an annual conference on peace and security in the Horn of Africa organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation on Nov. 5 in Istanbul. Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the only leader to visit Somalia during the 2010 crisis and stay a family to show solidarity with Somalians, presidential advisor and a prominent academic in Djibouti Dr. Ismail Wais said. “This really touched the hearts of the Somalian people,” he said. Turkey has several economic interests in the Horn of Africa region, Wais said. “We are expecting a Turkish delegation in two weeks time in Djibuti to sign a new memorandum between Turkey and Djibuti.”

“We are trying to bring cultural, political and economic relations to a new dimension.” The director of the Africa Political Institute and a governmental advisor in Kenya, Peter Kagwanja, also said Turkey is investing in the future with its policies, particularly in regards to Somalia.

Turkey is to increase the number of embassies in Africa to 34 by the end of 2012, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said. After new embassies in Niger, Namibia, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Chad and Gine in 2012, a new embassy will open in Djibouti.